The Web Site and Blog of Pastor Chris Brauns
Stating the obvious, we don’t see blind spots. That’s why they’re called blind spots. So, rather than being defensive when someone points something out, let’s listen to advice and accept instruction – - that in the end we can be wise (Proverbs 19:20).
Proverbs 17:10 – A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool. That is, a man of understanding doesn’t defensively deny blind spots when they come his way. He allows them to shape his character.
If you would like to study Proverbs, I highly recommend, Proverbs (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries)
With the ever quotable Kidner’s help, Justin Taylor provides a concise summary of the lazy person in Proverbs. Notice that it isn’t hard to become a sluggard. It’s as easy as falling asleep.
Derek Kidner, in his 1964 commentary on Proverbs, writes about the sluggard (pp. 42-43):
The sluggard in Proverbs is a figure of tragi-comedy, with his sheer animal laziness (he is more than anchored to his bed: he is hinged to it, 26:14), his preposterous excuses (“there is a lion outside!” 26:13; 22:13) and his final helplessness.
Kidner identified four features of the sluggard according to Proverbs:
(1) He will not begin things. When we ask him (6:9, 10) “How long?” “When…?”, we are being too definite for him. He doesn’t know. All he knows is his delicious drowsiness; all he asks is a little respite: “a little…a little…a little…”. He does not commit himself to a refusal, but deceives himself by the smallness of his surrenders. So, by inches and minutes, his opportunity slips away.
(2) He will not finish things. The rare effort of beginning has been too much; the impulse dies. So his quarry goes bad on him (12:27) and his meal goes cold on him (19:24; 26:15).
(3) He will not face things. He comes to believe his own excuses (perhaps there is a lion out there, 22:13), and to rationalize his laziness; for he is “wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason” (26:16). Because he makes a habit of the soft choice (he “will not plow by reason of the cold,” 20:4) his character suffers as much as his business, so that he is implied in 15:19 to be fundamentally dishonest…
Read the rest here.
Fair time is not so awful far away (See Remembering the 1972 County Fair in Keosauqua, IA). Surely you know some little girl you can encourage to read Charlotte’s Web
Wilbur feels the pain of loneliness:
“Certainly not,” said the lamb. “In the first place, I cannot get into your pen, as I am not old enough to jump over the fence. In the second place, I am not interested in pigs. Pigs mean less than nothing to me.”
“What do you mean, less than nothing?” replied Wilbur. “I don’t think there is any such thing as less than nothing? Nothing is absolutely the limit of nothingness. It’s the lowest you can go. It’s the end of the line. How can something be less than nothing? If there were something that was less than nothing, then nothing would not be nothing, it would be something – - even though it’s just a very little bit of something – - But if nothing is nothing, then nothing has nothing that is less than it is.”
“Oh, be quiet!” said the lamb. “Go play by yourself! I don’t play with pigs.”
Yet, Wilbur finds a friend.
Wilbur never forgot Charlotte. Although he loved her children and grandchildren dearly, none of the new spiders ever quite too her place in his heart. It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. Charlotte was both.
A companion of many friends may come to ruin, but there’s a friend that sticks closer than a brother (Prov 18:24).
It is June 29th – - why not read Proverbs 29. And, when you do, stop to consider Proverbs 29:18: one of the most misapplied verses in the Bible. See also this post on reading Proverbs.
Christian leadership books often quote Proverbs 29:18 as a rationale for a church writing a vision statement. The KJV version reads, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” This wording fits nicely for those who want to persuade others regarding the need for a vision statement.
While it is good for leaders to communicate vision, Proverbs 29:18 is not talking about a leader’s vision. Rather, “vision” here refers to special revelation and the principle is that that apart from God’s Word, society quickly spins into moral chaos.
Below is an excerpt of something I wrote elsewhere.
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The ESV gives this translation if Proverbs 29:18.
Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law (Proverbs 29:18, ESV).
The word translated “prophetic vision” refers to special revelation or God’s Word.[1] The word translated “cast off restraint”[2] carries the idea of there being a total loss of social order. It is the same word used in Exodus 32:25 to describe the Israelite’s frenzy during the Golden Calf disaster. The NIV translation reads:
Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies (Exodus 32:25, NIV).
If a people do not hear God’s Word, then we can expect society to break down and even local churches to cast off restraint.[3] “Social harmony and restraint cannot be achieved without the exhortations of the prophets and the teaching of the law.”[4] Public morality depends on knowing the law of God.[5] Fabarez argues that the reason there is so much immorality in evangelicalism today is because God’s Word is not preached.[6]
[1] “חָזֹון”, see Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, Edward Robinson, Charles A. Briggs, and Wilhelm Gesenius, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament : With an Appendix Containing the Biblical Aramaic : Based on the Lexicon of William Gesenius as Translated by Edward Robinson (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1979), 302. Waltke concludes that this word refers here to, “the sage’s inspired revelation of wisdom.” Bruce K. Waltke, The Book of Proverbs, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005), 446.
[2]“פָּרַע,” has the idea of “let go, let alone.” Brown, Driver, Robinson, Briggs, and Gesenius, 828. There is some confusion about the meaning of this verse because of the King James Version translation, “perish.” See Robert L. Alden, Proverbs: A Commentary on an Ancient Book of Timeless Advice (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983), 202.
[3] This Proverb has been used a great deal in recent years as a biblical defense for local churches writing vision statements. Writing a vision statement is a good idea. However, this verse doesn’t apply to that task. Alden summarizes, “Verse 18 has been misinterpreted for many years, probably because of the way it reads in the KJV; ‘Where there is no vision the people perish.’ ‘Vision’ here does not refer to one’s to need formulate goals and work toward them, nor does it mean eyesight or the ability to understand. ‘Vision’ instead is a synonym for what a prophet does. Thus its real meaning is God’s ‘guidance’ (TEV), ‘revelation’ (NIV), ‘authority’ (NEB), ‘prophecy’ (NAB).” Alden, 202. See also, Kaiser, 10-11. Kaiser applies this passage directly to a call for expository preaching. Delitzsch summarizes, “People are only truly happy when they earnestly and willingly subordinate themselves to the word of God which they possess and have the opportunity of hearing,” quoted in Waltke, 447.
[4] Duane A. Garrett, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, The New American Commentary, vol. 14 (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1993), 232.
[5] Derek Kidner, The Proverbs: An Introduction and Commentary (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1975), 176.
[6] Fabarez, xiii.
Who are you? In asking that question, I do not mean, “What’s your name?” Rather, what is the nature of your heart? What values are found at the center of your being? What motivates you and moves you forward in life.
Before you answer too quickly, think about Proverbs 16:2.
“All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the LORD (Proverbs 16:2).”
According to this Proverb, knowing yourself is not as easy as you might think. There are times when we don’t even know our own motives.
Dietrich Bonehoeffer stood up against Hitler and was eventually executed. But, even shortly before his execution he struggled to know himself. From prison he wrote,
Who am I? . . .
Am I really all that which other men tell of?
Or am I only what I know of myself,
Restless and longing and sick, like a bird in a cage,
Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine.
So, how can we get to know ourselves? The Proverb gives us the answer. “Motives are weighed by the Lord.” It is only as we see ourselves in the mirror of God’s Word – - only as we are sharpened and strengthened in the community of God’s people – - -It is then that we begin to understand ourselves more truly, and it is then that we can grow and flourish and know the joy and peace of following Christ.
Get to know yourself in the mirror of God’s Word and the community of the redeemed.
I often encourage people in our church that reading Proverbs should be part of the rest of their life. Whatever day of the month it is, read that day’s chapter of Proverbs. Today is May 3. Read Proverbs 3.
A recent post by Tim Keller offers some great insights that will make your time in Proverbs more profitable:
Some years ago I preached through the book of Proverbs, and I learned two things I hadn’t known about it. First, the Proverbs only give up their meaning cumulatively. No one proverb gives you the whole picture. If one proverb says, "the morally good always have a good life" and a later proverb says, "sometimes the morally good suffer" we think it’s a contradiction. That’s because we think of each proverb as an individual stand-alone promise. But they are not. All the proverbs on a given subject are meant to be taken together, each one modifying the others like the parallel clauses do. One gives you information about a topic; then subsequent ones come along and answer questions raised by the first one, or they condition and nuance a more blanket statement made earlier.
Chapters 10-15 tell us that the hard-working have enough to eat and the lazy will be poor. But starting in chapter 16, the exceptions to the customary-way-life-works come along. There is an order God has put into things that we must abide by, but, on the other hand, we can’t see it all and so must expect exceptions. An example of how the Proverbs only give up their meaning cumulatively is the famous Prov 16:25 — There is a way that seems right to a man, but that way leads only unto death. I’ve never heard this invoked except when the speaker wants to say to the listeners "don’t trust your feelings." But earlier Proverbs repeatedly said — "The way to destruction appears right to the fool." That is, fools are terrible at making plans because they reject the way of wisdom (not getting counselors, not being humble, not watching your words or controlling your emotions, etc). But 16:25 comes along and says — "But the way of destruction can appear right not just to a fool, but sometimes to anyone (to ‘a man’.) Even if you follow the way of wisdom to the "T" and make your plans as well as can be — sometimes your life can still blow up! This is a broken world. The wise know that sometimes all paths may run ill.
Proverbs 19:17, “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed.”
Wouldn’t you agree that God is a good credit risk?
Matthew 25:40
One of the things we need to do with our futures is dream big, but be flexible. Wait for God to show where he will lead (Proverbs 3:5-6). Seth Godin writes:
The chances of a high school student eventually becoming first violin for the Boston Philharmonic: one in a million.
The chances of a high school student eventually playing basketball in the NBA? About the same.
In fact, the chances of someone growing up and getting a job precisely like yours, whatever it is, are similarly slim. (Head of development at an ad agency, director of admissions for a great college… you get the idea). Every good gig is a long shot, but in the end, a lot of talented people get good gigs. The odds of being happy and productive and well compensated aren’t one in a million at all, because there are many good gigs down the road. The odds are only slim if you pick precisely one job.
One of the things we encourage our leaders to do is to read the day’s chapter of Proverbs. It’s not something we’re legalistic about – - not a big deal if you miss a day – – but, I encourage leaders to plan on reading Proverbs the rest of their lives.
Wisdom is the saw we use to cut our way through life, and Proverbs sharpen our wisdom saw.
Today Tim Keller had a post explaining how a mini-guide to Proverbs is found in Proverbs 3:3-12:
In my regular, daily Bible reading over the past year I read through Proverbs 3, a passage I’ve studied and preached through many times. But during this reading, I realized that in verses 3 through 12 we have all the themes of the rest of the book, and therefore a kind of mini-guide to faithful living. There are five things that comprise a wise, godly life. They function both as means to becoming wise and godly as well as signs that you are growing into such a life:
1. Put your heart’s deepest trust in God and his grace. Every day remind yourself of his unconditioned, covenantal love for you. Do not instead put your hopes in idols or in your own performance.
Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD with all your heart (Prov 3:3-5a)
2. Submit your whole mind to the Scripture. Don’t think you know better than God’s word. Bring it to bear on every area of life. Become a person under authority.
Lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Prov 3:5b-6)
3. Be humble and teachable toward others. Be forgiving and understanding when you want to be critical of them; be ready to learn from others when they come to be critical of you.
Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. (Prov 3:7-8)
Here to read the rest from Tim Keller.
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Other posts on Proverbs:
Leaders know how to pick up a crumb and carry it into the next room
It’s the 16th. Why not read Proverbs 16 today?
Proverbs 16:28 reads, “A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends.”
Read endorsements for Unpacking Forgiveness here.
Click here to order Unpacking Forgiveness.
“. . . Chris Brauns has done a magnificent job in helping us understand the true nature of biblical forgiveness. Every Christian will profit from reading and applying this book.” Jerry Bridges.
“ . . . Unpacking Forgiveness is an engaging, convicting but emphatically encouraging treatment of this hugely important (and sometimes mindbogglingly challenging) part of life. Dr. Brauns writes from the standpoint of a faithful, wise, experienced and caring pastor . . .” Ligon Duncan, First Pres, Jackson, MS
A Brick in the Valley
